Prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges in the Trayvon Martin murder case have gone to great lengths to protect the names of witnesses, fearing they'd be hounded by reporters, curiosity-seekers or worse. But lead prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda has inadvertently leaked the names of a dozen witnesses, violating a court order.

Throw the bum Rionda under the jail. There is no excuse for that kind of mistake! Now the witnesses can be stalked, threatened, intimidated or worse.

In our “Update on Media Policy For the Zimmerman Defense” we established that our policy is to post “ALL public documents associated with the Zimmerman case, including motions filed by the defense and State, as well as orders filed by the Court.”

Our first opportunity to follow through on this policy has met with a challenge. On Thursday, November 8, the State filed the State's 9th Supplemental Discovery which included the names and addresses of several witnesses. By including these witnesses names and addresss, the State was out of compliance with the Order to Unseal Court File, dated April 23, 2012, which says "the Court file is unsealed and the names and addresses of witnesses agreed to by the State and Defense will be redacted until further order of the Court;" and with the Order on Matters Addressed at April 27, 2012 Hearing, dated April 30, 2012, which states that "documents containing protected information should be filed in redacted form for the public record and in unredacted form under seal for in camera review."

While the State’s 9th Supplemental Discovery is already public, we will not post the unredacted version on our website as doing so compounds the State’s error and would violate the spirit of the Court order. Therefore, we have blocked out the names of witnesses that should have been redacted on the copy of the State’s 9th Supplemental Discovery on our website. While we intend to maintain our recently announced principle of posting “… ALL public documents…” we will further maintain discretion in this regard, when its exercise is appropriate, such as here.

The lead detective in the George Zimmerman murder trial hired famed lawyer Jose Baez to represent him as he maneuvers the next steps of the contentious high-profile case, the Miami Herald has learned.

Chris Serino, a former Sanford Police major-crimes investigator, became a controversial figure when evidence revealed that the detective had quietly filed an arrest affidavit a few weeks after the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, even as his chief publicly said there wasn't enough evidence to make a case.

A letter was sent last week by Baez to Dean Ringer Morton & Lawton, the law firm that sometimes represents the city of Sanford, advising that he will represent Serino in the upcoming proceedings. It is highly unusual for investigators to approach a murder trial with their own counsel.

Baez, who gained fame with the 2008 Casey Anthony case, declined to comment. A spokesman for Baez confirmed the letter and said Serino felt he needed an attorney to look out for his interests in the next stage of the case, but that he does not plan to file a lawsuit.

"He wants his own counsel — he's intimidated," said Baez spokesman Michael Wright. "It may not be a friendly deposition."

Tape recorded interviews between Zimmerman and Serino showed the investigator was skeptical of his suspect almost from the start. Three days after Martin was shot, Serino peppered Zimmerman with inconsistencies in his story and what he viewed as relatively light injuries, which didn't match the dramatic account of events.

Days after the interviews were made public, the 15-year department veteran was transferred to patrol duty on the overnight shift.

Like other Sanford police officers, he will soon have to give his sworn statement to prosecutors and Zimmerman's defense team.

Defense lawyer Mark O'Mara recently began interviewing Sanford police officers and detectives to determine who at the department wanted to arrest Zimmerman. Early interviews suggested the department was largely in agreement that there was no case against Zimmerman, O'Mara has said.

An FBI report released this summer showed Serino told agents that he was pressured by African-American officers to file charges. ::snipping2::

As part of nine-point plan implemented during the height of the activity surrounding the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman incident, commissioners have authorized the city manager to create a Police Community Relations Blue Ribbon Panel.

The creation of the panel was one of nine-points outlined by Community Relations Liaison Andrew Thomas during a meeting with the Dream Defenders in late April. The group, which will be comprised of 25 members of the community representing various factions, will work with City Manager Norton Bonaparte Jr. to identify any community relations issues with the police department. Subsequently, Bonaparte will relay those issues to the incoming chief.

Bonaparte said, “I would be working with the city police chief in looking at what the community is saying it feels are some of the areas of needed change in the police department.”

Bonaparte said he expected the panel to be in place for anywhere from three to five months.Read more...

LAKE MARY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35 ORLANDO) - Robert Zimmerman Jr. says, right after Trayvon Martin was shot and killed, there was a public relations campaign to ruin George Zimmerman's reputation. He says it was fabricated by people looking to gain attention in the case and now he'd like a federal investigation into whether his brother's civil rights were violated.

"He is not a murderer.," Robert Zimmerman Jr. says as he continues to defend his brother George. And this time, he's using an online petition to gather support. "The malicious stories they told in the beginning that even made a prosecution like this even possible. I don't think this should have been prosecuted."

The petition is one of many created on a website created by the White House, allowing citizens to speak out about their conc ::snipping2:: ::snipping2::erns. Robert says a man named David from California created this petition asking for a federal investigation into the malicious prosecution of George Zimmerman. While some Trayvon Martin supporters question the credibility of the creator, Robert Jr says the message on the petition is important because it questions the people involved early in the case, "Had more to do with promoting a self serving agenda and there's also some political interests or political motivations."

He says it was wrong for Trayvon Martin's family attorneys to insinuate that his brother is a racist murderer. "I think Benjamin Crump and Natalie Jackson laid a foundation for that to happen. ::snipping2::

Despite all the investigation, public outrage and scrutiny over the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, at least one major piece of evidence has not yet been thoroughly analyzed: his cellphone.

Police found it at the scene the night Trayvon was shot, its battery dead. Authorities tried but failed to download data from the phone, then asked his father, Tracy Martin, for the security code so they could unlock it. They didn't get the code and turned the phone over to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

A crime-lab specialist there had only limited success accessing the messages, photos and other information on the phone, according to attorneys for defendant George Zimmerman

Without the security code, FDLE analyst Stephen Brenton told attorneys, he could not unlock the phone and download information from its primary data-storage site: the chip built into the phone, said defense attorney Mark O'Mara.

Brenton was able to download files from two removable-storage devices in the phone: its SIM card and SD card, O'Mara said. But the information on its internal chip remains a mystery. It could be revealing, according to O'Mara and co-counsel Don West.

The phone is a 2-year-old Huawei U8150 smartphone, a model manufactured in China and sold by T-Mobile as the "Comet" and which shoots video and photos and provides Internet access plus conventional cellphone and texting features.

It could be a font of information about Trayvon, the unarmed black 17-year-old that Zimmerman killed Feb. 26 in Sanford. Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder. He says he acted in self-defense.

In addition to revealing whom the high-school junior talked with and when and what text messages he sent and received, it could be an electronic record of what he thought — captured in email, videos and photos — and the websites he visited.

The information downloaded by Brenton at the FDLE lab "tells me the last few phone calls, but that's about it," O'Mara said. "It looks like there is other information that I should have."

Dave Kleiman, a computer forensic technician and expert witness with Computer Forensics LLC in West Palm Beach, has no connection to the case and has not analyzed the phone, but he said there may be ways to get to the information from the built-in memory chip.

::snipping2::Trayvon's father provided ABC with a call log that showed several calls to Trayvon's phone in the minutes leading up to the shooting, something consistent with the girl's account to prosecutors. The last was at 7:12 p.m. Trayvon was shot at 7:16 p.m., according to Seminole County Sheriff's Office records.

The phone is registered to Trayvon's father. According to police records, on March 1, an analyst with the Seminole County Sheriff's Office told Sanford police he needed the security code to unlock the data on the phone.

Sanford police Detective Doris Singleton contacted the carrier, T-Mobile, asking for the code. The company told her they could get to the information if they had the PIN to the account. On March 5, Sanford police Sgt. Joe Santiago asked Tracy Martin for the PIN, according to a police report. Tracy Martin said he'd check with his attorney.

Martin never got back with police. At a March 8 news conference in Orlando, Tracy Martin told reporters he would not help police download information from the phone.

When questioned last month about Tracy Martin's decision to withhold the phone's PIN from authorities, family attorney Benjamin Crump said, "I don't know anything about that. We're going to do anything prosecutors say we should."

An attorney for Shellie Zimmerman today asked a judge to throw out the perjury charge against her, saying that Special Prosecutor Angela Corey, based in Jacksonville, has no jurisdiction in the case. ::snipping2::Gov. Rick Scott in March appointed Corey as special prosecutor in the George Zimmerman case. He's the Neighborhood Watch volunteer who shot and killed Trayvon Martin, an unarmed, black 17-year-old, Feb. 26, in Sanford.

Scott's executive order gave Corey the authority to investigate "all matters pertaining to the death."

In paperwork filed today in state circuit court in Sanford, Shellie Zimmerman's attorney, Kelly B. Sims, argues that Corey's authority does not extend to any cases in Seminole County except that of George Zimmerman.

"Importantly, Governor Scott did not give Special Prosecutor Corey blanket authority to file additional charges against other individuals for any alleged crimes committed within the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit," Sims wrote.

Seminole County is part of the 18th Judicial Circuit. Corey is the elected state attorney in the Fourth Judicial Circuit – Duval, Nassau and Clay counties.

George Zimmerman's legal team today defended his new promise to send autographed thank you cards to donors in an effort to bolster his dwindling legal defense fund.

The statement also said that if anyone is "profiteering" from the case it is the lawyers for the family of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed black teenager Zimmerman is accused of killing. ::snipping2::--------------------------------------

http://gzlegalcase.com/Regarding The New George Zimmerman Defense Fund and Thank You Cardson 29 November 2012. --------------------------------------

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Trayvon Martin’s school records will be released to George Zimmerman’s attorney.

Wednesday, the judge hearing Zimmerman’s second-degree murder trial signed an order authorizing subpoenas for Trayvon’s school records, something his family and prosecutors had fought to stop.

It’ll include not only the teen’s grades and accolades, but also all disciplinary actions taken against him, dating back to middle school.

Sanford police said Trayvon Martin was on a 10-day suspension from Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High School in Miami for having an empty marijuana baggie, when he was shot and killed by Zimmerman in Sanford in February 2012. Zimmerman said he shot Martin in self-defense under the state’s “Stand Your Ground” law.

The state attorney’s office tried to keep the records away from the defense.

They argued the teen wasn’t armed at the time of the shooting and what he did at school is irrelevant to the case.

The judge ruled that attorney Mark O’Mara was entitled to the records as part of his investigation into the case. Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder. ::snipping2::

George Zimmerman defense asks judge for original recording of interview with 'star witness'5:36 p.m. EST, November 30, 2012

George Zimmerman's legal team has asked a judge to force an attorney for Trayvon Martin's family to turn over to the defense a recorded interview with the witness described as the teen's girlfriend.

According to Benjamin Crump, an attorney representing Trayvon's family, the girlfriend was on the phone with 17-year-old Trayvon moments before he was shot by Zimmerman on Feb. 26.

At issue is a recorded interview Crump conducted with the girl, identified in prosecution documents as Witness 8. Crump played a portion of his talk with Witness 8 at a press conference in late March.

Crump has said that Witness 8 is 16 years old, but the defense writes in its motion that she is actually 18. She has not been publicly identified by either the state or defense, pursuant to a judge's order.

Witness 8's testimony may prove crucial to the state's case, because her account of events corroborates the state's assertion that Zimmerman pursued Trayvon before the shooting in Sanford.

In a new motion, defense attorney Don West refers to Witness 8 as the state's "star witness."

A copy of Crump's interview with Witness 8 already turned over to the defense is unintelligible, West argues in the new motion, urging the judge to order Crump to provide the original.

Circuit Judge Debra Nelson previously ruled Crump should bring the recording to his deposition by the defense, but West argues the defense needs the recording before his and other depositions. ::snipping2::West's motion asks Nelson to order Crump to turn the device he used to record the interview over to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The next hearing in the case is set for Dec. 11.

George Zimmerman defense asks judge for original recording of interview with 'star witness'11/30/12

George Zimmerman's legal team has asked a judge to force an attorney for Trayvon Martin's family to turn over to the defense a recorded interview with the witness described as the teen's girlfriend.

According to Benjamin Crump, an attorney representing Trayvon's family, the girlfriend was on the phone with 17-year-old Trayvon moments before he was shot by Zimmerman on Feb. 26.

At issue is a recorded interview Crump conducted with the girl, identified in prosecution documents as Witness 8. Crump played a portion of his talk with Witness 8 at a press conference in late March. Crump has said that Witness 8 is 16 years old, but the defense writes in its motion that she is actually 18. She has not been publicly identified by either the state or defense, pursuant to a judge's order.

Witness 8's testimony may prove crucial to the state's case, because her account of events corroborates the state's assertion that Zimmerman pursued Trayvon before the shooting in Sanford.

In a new motion, defense attorney Don West refers to Witness 8 as the state's "star witness."

A copy of Crump's interview with Witness 8 already turned over to the defense is unintelligible, West argues in the new motion, urging the judge to order Crump to provide the original. ::snipping2::

It was a strange development in a case that has seen more than its share: Chris Serino, the lead Sanford police investigator in the Trayvon Martin shooting, hired famed Casey Anthony defense attorney Jose Baez to represent him at his upcoming deposition in the case.

It's unclear what prompted Serino to hire a private attorney — eschewing available representation by the city of Sanford, his employer. But one issue likely to come up is his double-talk on whether there was enough evidence to support George Zimmerman's arrest as controversy surrounding the case spiraled out of control last spring.

Serino wrote in a sworn affidavit that there was probable cause to arrest Zimmerman. But he later told the Federal Bureau of Investigation he was pressured to author that document and didn't believe the evidence was sufficient for the manslaughter charge he recommended.

"Nobody put a gun to his head," says Michael Grieco, a Miami defense lawyer and former prosecutor. "When you sign an affidavit, you swear under oath."

And Serino isn't the only Sanford officer whose testimony could prove troublesome for prosecutors in the second-degree murder case against Zimmerman: High-ranking fellow officers largely agreed in March that there was not sufficient evidence to arrest Zimmerman. ::snipping2::Despite hiring an attorney, there's no indication that Serino is currently facing internal or external investigation for his handling of the shooting. But several experts consulted by the Sentinel said there are a wide range of potential penalties for filing a false affidavit.

Orlando attorney Howard Marks, who frequently sues police agencies and officers for alleged misconduct, said that if an officer intentionally includes false facts in an affidavit, he may be guilty of violating a suspect's constitutional rights against illegal search and seizure. The officer could then be liable for civil damages. ::snipping2::